Total pages in book: 20
Estimated words: 18922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 95(@200wpm)___ 76(@250wpm)___ 63(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 18922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 95(@200wpm)___ 76(@250wpm)___ 63(@300wpm)
“Me cook? I can’t even boil water without setting off the fire alarm. And I want you to come... I mean help me out. I would hate to disappoint the kid.”
I eye him critically. “Is this like your thing? Am I being pranked or something? Is this a joke?”
He opens his phone, types in something, and then hands it to me. I’m expecting to see him in football pants holding a trophy or something like that, and damn if I don’t ready myself for that image but instead I’m looking at him surrounded by a bunch of children. There’s a headline and article talking about how much his sponsorship has meant to the children. I only get a few lines in. “I’m in. Just tell me a menu and where I need to be.”
He shakes his head. “Just like that?”
I nod, not wanting to offer any more explanation.
2
Josh
My phone dings again, and at this point I want to throw it on the ground and stomp on it. I know it’s my reminder that I’m supposed to be at the field for practice, but I don’t want to leave yet. I want to keep talking to Violet. Who am I kidding? I want to do a lot more than talk to Violet.
I noticed her when I pulled in and she walked by my car. She’s got curves in her petite little body, and when she reached around me into the refrigerated coolers for a water, it took everything in me not to throw her over my shoulder and take her home with me. She has a body made for sin and a face that I could look at all day every day and never want to look away. The fact that she’s agreeing to come and cook the dinner is insane to me, but I’m not going to turn her down. I don’t care if she burns the food at this point; I want her any way I can get her.
“It’s for a ten-year-old little boy. I mean, it’s like chicken nuggets, some kind of mac and cheese, he mentioned some kind of apple cake that the hospital treated them with and I’m still trying to track down a recipe, but I have to be at practice five minutes ago.”
She’s nodding, taking it all in. “I can handle it. I graduated top of my class in culinary school, and I’m pretty sure I know the cake he’s talking about. I got it. I just need an address.”
I reach into my car and come back out with a piece of paper. I write my address down and hand it to her. “They are supposed to be there at 6 pm.” I pull a key off my key chain and hand it to her. “This will get you inside. I wrote down the alarm code. Oh, and here.” I reach into my wallet and pull out the black American Express card. “Here you go. Get whatever you need with that.”
She holds her hands up. “That’s okay. I’ll just get it.”
But I grab her hand and force her to take it. I don’t know why it’s so important to me. Maybe because I’m worried she’s going to back out, and if she has my card, at least she’ll have something of mine that I need to track down. “You’re not paying for it. Take my card.” I hold it out to her until she takes it, and I let out a sigh of relief.
My phone rings, and when I look at it, seeing it’s my coach, I know I have to answer it. “Hey, Coach.”
Violet turns to leave, but I reach out and grab her hand to stop her. I walk with her to her car as I talk to my coach. “I’m on my way. I’ll be there in ten.”
I click the phone off just as she reaches for door. Reluctantly, I let her go, and she gets in. “So I’ll see you later?”
She smiles up at me. “Yes. I’ll be there. Dinner will be ready by six. Don’t worry. I got this.”
But I am worried. Not about the dinner or any of that. I’m worried that I’m going to let her drive away and I’m never going to see her again. How she can be under my skin that fast is beyond me, but I know I want to get to know her better.
I start to shut the door. “Oh, I’ll pay you for your time and services too.” I take my wallet from my front pocket and pull out the cash. It’s five one hundred dollar bills, and I hand them over to her.
She shoves my hand away. “Hold on to your money. We’ll discuss it later.”
I pocket the money and say to her again, “All right, so I’ll see you later?”